Difference between Archetype and God?

[westwoden]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

I guess it doesn't really matter, as I see the Gods/Archetypes as symbols of the real God - this would be the mysterious Force/Essence/One/Source/Supreme Being, ie: the real power behind the throne.

The named Gods that we work with are ways of channeling our thoughts to this highest of Beings. IM

[nbdy]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

I got Caregiver.

[Threshold]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

Does it matter?

I'm not saying this to be facetious, and I'm not saying that it isn't an interesting intellectual discussion...but at the end of the day, does it matter?

Does it matter if the Brigid you honor, or pray to or meditate on is an idea in your head or a real and thriving entity?

no. I'm a pantheist. BUT, having imaginary friends that are crucial to my functioning...it makes no diff to me. I KNOW they are not real but they serve the same function and my life is enhanced and that IS real.

the value is in the pudding, even if the proof never turns up.

I think that it's important to some people that their archetype/god/imaginary friend be validated by others. They don't like the idea that something might be all in their head, and that someone else might have a bigger claim on "truth".

I'm relatively pragmatic. I've developed a faith that allows me to operate at my highest level of functioning in this life. That's the best reason I can think of to practice a religion.

That being said, as a pantheist, well, few people try talking me out of believing that the Universe exists.

[Medusa]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

Does it matter?

I'm not saying this to be facetious, and I'm not saying that it isn't an interesting intellectual discussion...but at the end of the day, does it matter?

Does it matter if the Brigid you honor, or pray to or meditate on is an idea in your head or a real and thriving entity?

How can it not matter? People base their entire lives and afterlife on something. I'd sure as hell like to know if it's based on a lie or not. I can't think of one more important thing in the universe then if the god you worship is real.

[westwoden]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

of course, no one will ever know for sure.

but if we believe it to be real, then it is , even if only in a metaphysical sense.

That is good enough for me!

[thalassa]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

How can it not matter? People base their entire lives and afterlife on something. I'd sure as hell like to know if it's based on a lie or not. I can't think of one more important thing in the universe then if the god you worship is real.

o

I can think of a zillion more important things...like, does your belief in the god you worship make you a better person? does it make you nicer to your neighbors? does it make you more conscious of the environment? do your beliefs deepen the meaning you find in your relationships? does your relationship with god cause you to look more deeply at yourself and your actions? does your belief in the god you worship help you live your life with integrity? does your relationship with god improve how you go through life around you?

It really doesn't matter if that god is real or not, if it helps someone be the best person that can be.

Kudos for someone that doesn't need god for that...and kudos for someone that is a better person with god than they would be without. Whether or not a deity is a "real" entity is immaterial and secondary.

[Medusa]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

o

I can think of a zillion more important things...like, does your belief in the god you worship make you a better person? does it make you nicer to your neighbors? does it make you more conscious of the environment? do your beliefs deepen the meaning you find in your relationships? does your relationship with god cause you to look more deeply at yourself and your actions? does your belief in the god you worship help you live your life with integrity? does your relationship with god improve how you go through life around you?

It really doesn't matter if that god is real or not, if it helps someone be the best person that can be.

Kudos for someone that doesn't need god for that...and kudos for someone that is a better person with god than they would be without. Whether or not a deity is a "real" entity is immaterial and secondary.

I guess that's why I'm an atheist. The very first thing I do is ask myself 'is this true?' No. So I skip the deity thing. I can't imagine knowingly going into something as important as believing in a deity that it's bunk. I might as well go without...oh wait. Yeah. Check. Did that.

[Louisvillian]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

How can we define the difference here?

To me, a god is an actual divine being, a manifestation of spiritual energy and consciousness with a distinct "personality" and attributes. Beings that almost defy description aside from the facets of their behaviours that they share with us.
An archetype is the mental constructions we have regarding these, and many other, beings.
Example: Cernunnos could be said to be a god; as could Pan, Herne, Faunus, and Pashupati. "Horned God" is the archetype at play; a common cultural concept used by (in this case, Indo-European) human minds to conceptualise and "tag" these beings in a way that we can consistently recognise and interact with.

[westwoden]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

I certainly believe there's a 'something' out there - more like a kind of Force, so the archetype idea works for me.

I guess this would be pantheism?

[Threshold]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

How can it not matter? People base their entire lives and afterlife on something. I'd sure as hell like to know if it's based on a lie or not. I can't think of one more important thing in the universe then if the god you worship is real.

Very interesting. It's been so long since i even considered the possible reality of an afterlife that I didn't even think about that aspect. I truly believe that this life is IT. I don't believe in a deity. So whether or not other people's deity is real or not isn't much of an issue to me. I guess I assume they are ideas rather than realities, even if they other people believe they are realities.

I guess that is where decades of Pantheism have led me, the Universe is the Ultimate reality and the rest is metaphor.

- - - Updated - - -

I guess that's why I'm an atheist. The very first thing I do is ask myself 'is this true?' No. So I skip the deity thing. I can't imagine knowingly going into something as important as believing in a deity that it's bunk. I might as well go without...oh wait. Yeah. Check. Did that.

I don't feel that archetypes are bunk. While a specific deity, in my understanding, may not be real, the metaphor/archetype of it is still important. People are generally guided by some philosophical or cultural understanding of things. even though those are generated BY humans for the purpose of carrying on social interaction, they aren't meaningless.

Things don't have to be ordained by a supernatural force to be of critical importance. Things other than ultimate reality and truth are used to order society. Something not existing on concrete terms does not rule out the influence it has upon human behavior.

I am not claiming that YOU are dismissing the importance of things, even if they are not concrete, just sharing some of my own thoughts on what your post brought to mind in me.

[westwoden]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

I've had to copy this from Wiki, as I keep getting the 2 mixed up: (ie: Panentheism v. Pantheism)

Panentheism (from Greekposits that the divine (be it a monotheistic God, polytheistic gods, or an eternal cosmic animating force), interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it. Panentheism differentiates itself from pantheism, which holds that the divine is synonymous with the universe.^[1]

I must be a panentheist

panentheism seems to be pantheism + God on top - this is what I believe!

so where does this leave me with my views of the Force, Archetypes, and soft polytheism?

lablels get tricky, for sure:xD:

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

Labels are always tricky. That's why you need to research things more fully. I think at the moment you are bouncing from one thing to another a bit, and this will end up confusing you.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what we call ourselves. It's what we are that matters most.

[westwoden]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

yep, that's true, a bit bouncy right now! lol,

but it's getting there slowly but surely - been 3 years so far on this quest, but finally getting my head around it

[iflewoverthecuckoosnest]

Re: Difference between Archetype and God?

I guess it doesn't really matter, as I see the Gods/Archetypes as symbols of the real God - this would be the mysterious Force/Essence/One/Source/Supreme Being, ie: the real power behind the throne.

The named Gods that we work with are ways of channeling our thoughts to this highest of Beings. IM

That sounds quite a lot like what I believe, but I'm fairly agnostic about the whole thing- sometimes I believe it, other times I doubt it. In any case, when I do believe it, I think that there is a great, unifying consciousness that has realized or dreamed the universe into existence and that continues to realize itself through us. Sometimes, we give that greater consciousness, that great I Am, faces or archetypes to make it more comprehensible. To me, in a sense, everything is God dreaming his/herself, and we are here to channel God into the comprehensible.

But, as I said, I'm somewhat agnostic about it. The basic ideas behind it remain consistent in my mind, but to what extent "God" is truly a conscious deity, and to what extent "God" is a metaphor, varies a lot.